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Clarecraft Designs Ltd
| foundation= 1980 | location= Suffolk, England | industry= Figurines | revenue= N/A | num_employees= 29 (at height) | key_people= Sally Couch and Trish Baker (Co-owners) (Founders) | products= Figurines based on various genre including Fighting Fantasy and the Various other fantasy figurines | homepage=http://www.clarecraft.co.uk Clarecraft.co.uk |}} Clarecraft Designs Ltd was a company which produced hand-painted resin collectible s including an officially licensed series of ''Fighting Fantasy'' based figurines in 1986, which it later re-released in 2004. Its most popular series was an officially licensed series of figurines based on the novels by . Foundation The company was founded in 1980 by . ''Fighting Fantasy'' In 1992 Clarecraft were officially licensed to produce Fighting Fantasy based figurines. There were originally 13 designed, numbered JL01 to JL13. However, only 12 were produced, with JL12, the Hydra not being launched due to the complexity of its design. JL06, the Doragar and JL09, the Hell Demon, are for some reason not listed as one of the designs by the "Fighting Fantasy Collection" section of the 25th Anniversary Edition of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, although Yaztromo is, yet this was never one of the designs. In 2004, after the relaunch of Fighting Fantasy by Wizard Books, Clarecraft once again produced these figurines, although in this new release only 10 pieces were produced, with the Titan Dragon and FF Plaque/Bookend pieces not being re-released. Discworld and Others Clarecraft acquired the rights to make Discworld figurines in 1990. Only three years later, in 1993, Clarecraft was purchased by Sally Couch and Trish Baker, the current owners. It is one of the few large scale vendors of Discworld merchandise, along with , , and Bernard Pearson. Clarecraft also ran a large fan club called "The Discworld Collectors' Guild", which hosted a large convention every other year which drew about 1000 people, including Terry Pratchett himself. Generic Details of Production Clarecraft figurines are made from a variety of different materials, including pewter and ceramic, and vary widely in size. They range from statues of characters to replicas of objects from the novels to locations appearing in the novels, and some function as book ends, stamps, or containers as well as figurines. With regard to Discworld, the designers at Clarecraft consulted with Terry Pratchett to ensure their figurines accurately reflect the novels. Closure On August 4, 2005, Clarecraft announced they would be shutting down at the end of October and would stop taking orders in mid-October. Availability of Figurines Clarecraft figurines are available in stores throughout England as well as online through Collectors Gifts. Its figurines have become quite collectable, with discontinued items often selling for many times their original price on auction sites. Since their pieces were hand made in Britain rather than mass produced like many figurines, each statue is different. The most expensive sale on record is that of an extremely rare piece sold on in early 2005 to benefit the , which sold for £1600. See Also External Links *Bernard Pearson's Discworld Emporium *Collectors Gifts, the primary online supplier of Clarecraft products. *An article on Discworld collectibles *Biography of Bernard Pearson *An article about the figurine sold for tsunami relief charity *An article about the closing of Clarecraft's factory References Category:Fighting Fantasy Ornaments Category:Fighting Fantasy Item Manufacturers